Marcelo Claure is a global entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Claure Group, a multi-billion-dollar global investment firm spanning multiple high growth sectors including tech, telecom, media, real estate, sports and others. Over the next 10 years, Claure has made a commitment to invest his time, capital, and expertise to Latin America. As part of this commitment, in January 2023, Claure invested US$100 million in SHEIN, the global #1 on-demand fashion company in the world and was appointed as Chairman of SHEIN in Latin America.
Claure immigrated from Bolivia to the United States and started his first business Brightstar in 1997 by selling mobile phones from the back of his car. It grew to become the world’s largest global wireless distribution and services company and the largest Hispanic business in US history with revenues exceeding US$10 billion. In 2014, Claure sold Brightstar to SoftBank and immediately became the CEO of Sprint, one of the world’s largest global telecommunications companies, where he led its turnaround and delivered the best financial results in the company’s 120-year history, going from an accumulated loss of US$46.5 billion in the preceding seven years to generating a net income of US$7.4 billion in 2017. Claure also led the US$195 billion merger between Sprint and T-Mobile that closed in 2020, creating the New T-Mobile which is now the most valuable telecommunications company in the world with a market cap of nearly US$200 billion. Shortly after the merger, Claure executed the largest non-government secondary offering in corporate financial history, a transaction that delivered over US$23B to SoftBank. Claure remains an active board member in the New T-Mobile and is the company’s largest individual shareholder. Following the merger, Claure was promoted to CEO of SoftBank Group International where he had direct oversight for SoftBank’s operating companies like ARM, a global leading chip manufacturer; Fortress, a leading global asset manager; SB Energy, a global leader in renewable energy; Boston Dynamics, the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot; WeWork, one of the world’s leading flexible workplace providers, and over 40 other companies in SoftBank’s portfolio. Additionally, Claure was part of the team that helped launch SoftBank’s US$100B Vision Fund.
Going back to his roots as an entrepreneur, Claure launched the US$8 billion SoftBank Latin America fund in 2019, the largest VC fund in the region and up until today, the most important investment vehicle in Latin America venture capital history. With a passion for futbol, Claure owns Club Bolívar, Bolivia’s largest professional soccer team. In partnership with City Football Group, he is also a co-owner of Girona FC in Spain. Throughout his career, Claure has been recognized with many entrepreneurship awards and is a member of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. He was also recognized by the Carnegie Corporation as a Great Immigrants Recipient, an award given to extraordinary immigrants who have made notable contributions to the progress of American society. Claure received a B.S. in Economics and Finance and an honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science from Bentley University. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Babson College. He is also an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and is a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. Claure is married with six children.
